A LOOK AHEAD * Amid fears that the racetrack’s new owner will destroy its elegant look with remodeling, preservationists are . . .

Because it is facing a major face lift, Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia will be named today by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the country’s most endangered historic places.

The trust will place the 66-year-old Santa Anita Park on its annually issued endangered list, along with 10 other sites such as Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania and Abraham Lincoln’s retreat in Washington, D.C.

The listings by the 250,000-member nonprofit advocacy group have no legal status but have served as a powerful public relations tool in the battle to protect landmarks.

The track earned a spot because of a proposal by owner Frank Stronach, a Canadian auto parts magnate, to make major changes to the facility.

Initial models, preservationists say, show the grand facade replaced by a classical-looking exterior reminiscent of Caesars Palace, attached to an extensive entertainment village.

The track “is one of the most recognizable historic sites in California. If they go forward with these plans, it would be a tragedy,” said Richard Moe, president of the trust. “The final outcome would be infinitely better if this historic resource were thoughtfully redeveloped, not obliterated.”

Last year a preliminary face lift Stronach described to the city as a “remodeling of the interior of the grandstand area” included the construction of two large elevator towers, which preservationists say obscure the grandstand’s Art Deco facade.

The Los Angeles Conservancy says the construction was carried out without an environmental review, which is required by California law before altering the exterior of a landmark.

Preservationists fear that may be indicative of the next phase of the 320-acre track’s overhaul. “There doesn’t seem to be a concern by the owner of Santa Anita about historic resources,” said Linda Dishman, executive director of the conservancy.

Stronach, in a Santa Anita brochure released last summer, described plans for a “year-round destination entertainment center which will be appealing to families.”

Models in the brochure show a grandstand with a new Roman-style exterior attached to a large complex that includes a Las Vegas-type theater and an enclosed Wild West town.

Stuart Zanville, Santa Anita’s spokesman, said any models or illustrations in the brochure were “very preliminary.”

“Magna Entertainment Corp. [the track’s parent company] has submitted nothing to the city,” he said. “The model was shown 12 months ago to small groups of people.”

Magna, he added, has retained a preservation-minded architect to help with the development. As to the elevator towers that ignited the ire of the conservancy, Zanville said those were needed for the grandstand’s new 532-seat restaurant, which under the Americans With Disabilities Act had to be accessible to the handicapped.

The conservancy nominated Santa Anita for the trust’s list. The inclusion in 1994 of the historic McDonald’s hamburger stand in Downey and in 1997 of St. Vibiana’s Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles helped save those structures, preservationists say.

Dishman said the conservancy wants to negotiate an agreement in which improvements would be made to Santa Anita while maintaining its historic integrity. She cites as an example neighboring Pasadena, where landmark structures were made part of the successful Old Pasadena retail district.

“The most popular place with young people in the nation is Art Deco Miami Beach, and here we have something that looks like Miami Beach,” Dishman said.

Until Stronach purchased Santa Anita for $126 million in 1998, it had seen few significant changes since its golden era, when it was a favorite of Hollywood stars.

Named for Anita Baldwin, the daughter of Arcadia founder Elias “Lucky” Baldwin, it featured a design that won top honors at the Paris Exposition of 1937 for Gordon H. Kaufmann, the architect of the Hoover Dam, the Los Angeles Times Building and the Greystone mansion.

If Stronach goes forward with his plans, Santa Anita’s future may rest with the Arcadia City Council. It must approve any major changes, as it did the elevator towers last year.

Assistant City Manager Don Penman said any future changes to the facility will be subject to environmental review, but he insisted that the buildings themselves are not on the state or national register of historic places.

Officials at the national trust disagree. They say the entire track was designated a state historic landmark because of its importance to Japanese Americans. During World War II, the site was an assembly center for 20,000 people on their way to internment camps.

Says trust President Moe, “Santa Anita is a true gem in the West. Pressure has got to be brought to bear to save this wonderful place. Can you imagine the anguish if they tried to do this to Churchill Downs in Kentucky?”